Club with shifting weight



June 23, 1970 s. A. ESTES 3,516,673

CLUB WITH SHIFI'ING WEIGHT Fild Dec. 11, 1967 EVACUATED CONTAINER WITH MERCURY INVENTOR SANFORD AQESTES BY 41W ATTORNEY 3,516,673 CLUB WITH SHIFTING WEIGHT Sanford A. Estes, P.0. Box 12215, Tucson, Ariz. 85711 Filed Dec. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 689,475 Int. Cl. A63b 53/00, 53/02 US. Cl. 273-162 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf club, having a hollow in the head and extending into the shaft; in the hollow is an evacuated container partially filled with mercury; a projecting part of the container extends into the shaft and is spaced therefrom by annular spacers on the projecting part.

In playing golf, a ball is struck with a club, which thereby drives the ball a distance through the air. It is desirable to achieve maximum distance with a particular club, acknowledging at the same time that accuracy in distance and direction are also very important. To achieve these ends, there has been suggested in the prior art the construction of a club having a hollow extending within the club head and up into the club shaft, which hollow is partially filled with a weighting material of a fluent nature, such as mercury. Consequently, when the club head is elevated, the mercury flows into the shaft, and during the swing, the mercury flows into the head. This thereby enables a rapid, controlled swing at the beginning of the stroke, and the striking of the ball with the mercury in the head, thereby giving great impact, during the contacting portion of the swing; these actions are those envisioned by the proponents of this type and construction of golf club.

These prior art suggestions have been deficient in a number of ways, however. A factor not accounted for in previous constructions is that the mercury may well drive the air molecules in front of the lead face thereof, thereof tending to compress the air within the cavity in the club, causing the compressed air to react against the mercury and result in an uneven swing and motion of the club. Further, the air within the cavity will cause the mercury to flow in an uneven or unsteady manner, possibly breaking into separate bodies with air between them, thereby causing an irregular flow of the mercury and consequent unevenness of the swing, as noted.

Another deficiency in the prior art clubs of this nature has been the difficulty of manufacture, the prior arts suggesting either a relatively thin-walled club head defining a relatively large cavity or chamber for the mercury, or the dril ing or routing of material from club head parts in order to provide a chamber. Either construction is both difficult and expensive, and in practice would not be as sturdy as desirable.

An object of the present invention is to provide a club with shifting weight and having improved swinging characteristics.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a shifting weight golf club having a steady and even shifting of the weight therein.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club which will be economical to manufacture and of sturdy construction.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a golf club including a separate container for shifting weight material there within.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily understood from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

United States Patent ice FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts in section, of a club in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing an integral container forming a part of the club of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3' is a view showing the container of FIG. 2 while in motion.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another club in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like or corresponding reference numerals are used to designate like or correspinding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a club 10 comprising a club head 12 with striking face 14. Extending upwardly from head 12 is a shaft 16. A void 18 is formed within the head 12, and a void 20 is formed within the shaft 16, shaft 16 being preferably in the form of a tubular shaft.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an integral container 22 which defines a cavity. Container 22 has a head portion 24 in the form of an enlarged hollow body, container 22 also comprising a tubular extension 26 of the hollow body 24. Container 22 may be of a plastic material, such as Teflon, or may be of such metals as aluminum or brass. Within the integral container 22 is a quantity of mercury 25, the mercury 25 having a volume which is less than the volume of container 22. The exterior shape and dimensions of the enlarged body 24 of container 22 are such as to substantially conform to the void 18 in the head 12 of the club 10. The tubular extension 26 of container 22 has a transverse exterior cross section which is less than the transverse dimension of the void 20 in shaft 16, and annular spacers 28 are provided along the length of the extension 26. Spacers 28 engage both the exterior of the tubular extension 26 and the interior of shaft 16, to thereby provide for satisfactory support for extension 26 within shaft 16.

In manufacturing the club in accordance with the present invention, the container 22 is provided, of materials as above noted, and the mercury 25 is then placed into container 22. Thereafter, the air, or other gas, remaining within the container 22 is evacuated and the container 22 is then sealed. There is thereby provided a substantially hermetically sealed container 22 of the noted shape, containing a body of mercury, and which is substantially free of gas which would impede the flow of the mercury. The shaft 16 is provided, and this may be a conventional tapered shaft. The club head 12 is provided with the void 18, the shape and dimension of which are substantially identical to the shape and dimension of the head-like body 24 of container 22, it being understood that the head 12 may be in several parts to facilitate assembly. The container 22 is then postioned in the head 12, which is assembled around it, the tubular extension 26 extending therefrom with the spacers 28 thereon. Thereupon, the shaft 16 may be passed over the spacers 28 and extension 26, to provide the construction as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 3, when a club in accordance with the invention has been raised so that the head 12 is above the remaining portions of the club, the mercury 25 will be understood to be substantially entirely within the tubular extension 26. As the club 10 is swung, centrifugal forces and gravity will cause the mercury 25 to move towards and into the hollow body 24, and as may be seen in FIG. 3, this movement is even and steady, without either a resistance due to compressedair or a breaking up of the mercury body due to the interaction of it and air within the container 22. This thereby permits an even and continuous movement of the mercury body 25 and a smooth and regular swing, resulting in superior impacting of the ball.

While the invention has been illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 in connection with a golf club known as a wood, it

may also be applied to a golf club known as an iron as illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein there may be seen a club 30 having a head 32 and handle 34. A cavity extends within head 32 and handle 34, comprising a head portion 36 and a shaft portion 38. Within the cavity there is a body of mercury 40, and, as in the case of FIGS. 1-3, the cavity is evacuated so as to be substantially free of gas.

There has been provided a superior club for striking an object, the club providing a cavity there within having a body of fluent material, such as mercury, and being both hermetically sealed and substantially free of gas. This construction permits the swinging of the club with great facility and results in superior action on the object struck by the club. In addition, a club in accordance with the present invention is readily manufactured, there being provided an integral container which defines the above mentioned hermetically sealed, fluent material containing cavity. Further, the total weight of a club in accordance with the present invention colsely approximates the weight of a corresponding club of normal construction.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A golf club comprising:

a head for striking an object,

a shaft extending from said head,

an evacuated container in said head and having a projecting part thereof extending into said shaft, said container being partially filled with a fluent material, and

means supporting said last mentioned container part within said shaft.

2. A golf club as set forth in claim 1, said last mentioned means comprising a series of annular spaced apart spaces engaging said shaft and said container part and spacing said container part from said shaft.

3. A club as set forth in claim 1, said fluent means being mercury.

4. A club as set forth in claim 1, said container being of metal.

5. A club as set forth in claim 1, said container being of plastic.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,894,841 1/1933 Adams 273 2,051,083 8/1936 Hart 273-81 2,432,450 12/1947 Sears 273l71 3,037,775 6/1962 Busch 273171 FOREIGN PATENTS 448,561 6/ 1936 Great Britain.

GEORGE J. MARLO, Primary Examiner R. J. APLEY, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 273-80, 170 

